The present invention relates to a method of automatic doffing in a textile machine. More specifically, it relates to a method of automatic doffing in a spinning frame or a winder, which permits doffing of a full package and donning of an empty bobbin to be performed by a single operation of a component device provided in an automatic doffing apparatus.
Automation in a spinning mill is a general concern, and a number of automatically-operated devices and improved methods have been contemplated and used for application to various types of spinning machines or winders, accordingly, for the purpose of labor saving, as well as for an increase in productivity. In the field of doffing operations for replacing a full package with an empty bobbin on a spinning unit, various devices and methods have been proposed so far with a view to accomplishing the operation more efficiently so as to reduce the downtime of the respective working units during the doffing operation.
According to a conventional method of doffing, in general, a full package is first removed from a bobbin holder by a doffing device and discharged thereafter to a position where the package will not interfere with the subsequent operation for loading of a new empty bobbin, whereupon the bobbin is placed on the bobbin holder by any suitable means for donning. In this way, the doffing and donning operations according to the conventional method are performed by at least two independent motions of the relevant means or devices. This means that a lot of non-spinning time is consumed during the doffing operation and the structure of the doffing apparatus is complicated, with the result that the operating efficiency at each of the working stations is not only reduced, but also the cost of the doffing apparatus is increased.